Give Thanks and Be Prepared!

Tomorrow many of us will gather with friends and family around the dinner table and give thanks for all that we have.  The family at the Chester County Department of Emergency Services wants to give thanks to those that can’t be with us at the dinner table because they are serving to protect us overseas and domestically or they made the ultimate sacrifice.  This includes everyone in our uniformed family – Military, Police, Firefighters, Emergency Medical Services personnel, and those working in the basement of the Government Services Center – our telecommunicators.  We’d also like to suggest a dinner time conversation – how prepared are you for an emergency?

You can visit http://www.readyregion.org/ to get more information on how best to prepare for emergencies.  This website includes everything from how to prepare an emergency kit to how to sign-up for free to receive text message alerts.  It includes information on how to prepare to evacuate and how to prepare to shelter-in-place.  It even includes information on how to prepare your pets and your business!

Happy Thanksgiving and be safe!

  On Saturday, November 19^th the Chester County EMS Training Institute conducted its fall EMT Class rescue day.  This is a day in each of our training classes that we set aside to help the students get some really world hands on training including interaction with a rescue company.  The day was a very successful day and all participants got some very useful training.  We would like to thank Westwood Fire Company for hosting this training session and Sadsburyville and Wagontown fire companies for assisting.  The would not have been to happen without the donation of vehicle by Fling’s Towing of Coatesville. 

ERT & IST Mock Incident - by Pat D.

Members of the Chester County Incident Support Team (IST) participated in a “Mock Incident” training exercise with members of the West Chester Regional Emergency Response Team (ERT).

The goals of the drill were as follows:

·         To conduct a safe training incident

·         Effectively evaluate the continuity of our operations

·         Effectively evaluate equipment used by the teams

·         Evaluate senior tactical personnel in command and leadership roles

·         Measure decision making skills of all participants throughout the mock incident

Evaluations were conducted by members of the Western Chester County Emergency Response Team and members of the North Eastern Chester County Emergency Response Team.

This is one of many events which are conducted on a regular basis, which are designed to foster a and strengthen working relationships between the County Department of Emergency Services and our Emergency Response Community.

Voice Radio Project Update

The next major step in the Chester County Voice Radio Project (VRP) will occur on 21 November, 2011 when the proposals from prospective system vendors are due to the county.  The Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on 29 July 2011 following a 6-month research and writing process led by our consultant, ACD Telecom that involved Chester County emergency response organizations and the Department of Emergency Services (DES).  Following release of the RFP there were opportunities for prospective system vendors to ask questions about the RFP and to participate in a site visit to the county including a pre-proposal conference.  Ten vendors participated in some or all of these activities.  The next step will be a review of the proposals by a selection committee comprised of emergency response organizations, DES and again facilitated by ACD Telecom.  In the first quarter of 2012, the committee will make a system vendor recommendation to the Commissioners.  System acceptance is planned for the summer of 2015.

New Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Paging System -

On Thursday, 17 November, the Chester County Board of Commissioners signed contracts with Motorola Solutions and ARINC to provide the new Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Paging System for Chester County.  This new system is required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Report and Order #92-235 that requires radios in certain frequency bands to   reduce from 25 Kilohertz (KHz) bandwidth to 12.5 KHz channel bandwidth by Jan. 1, 2013.  For Chester County this order could only be met with a new system.  In the new system, Motorola Solutions will provide the replacement paging units (Minitor V) and ARINC will provide the system infrastructure.  The Requests for Proposal for the two components were developed by fire, fire police, and EMS responders and members of the Department of Emergency Services (DES) staff under the leadership of the county’s consultant, ACD Telecom.  The same committee reviewed the proposals and made the selection recommendation to the Commissioners. Current plans are to have the new system installed and operational by Oct. 1, 2012.

2011 Limerick Generating Station Summary - by Tony P.

On Tuesday 15 November 2011 the Chester County Emergency Operation Center along with the Emergency Operation Centers in the fifteen municipalities located in the Emergency Preparedness Zone (EPZ) for the Limerick Generating Stations participated in the biennial radiological emergency preparedness exercise.  Approximately 230 staff and volunteers participated in this exercise.  The exercise is to make sure the county and municipalities are capable to protect the citizen in the EPZ if something were to happened at Limerick.  The exercise provides more to the citizens because of what the participants complete for the exercise is used in any emergency that happens in the area.   

Bentonville, AK - by Bill T.

The Northwest Arkansas Community College in conjunction with Wal-Mart hosted a national forum titled “Fostering Cooperation with Local, State, Regional, and Federal Public/Private Sector Initiatives” on November 3 and 4 in Bentonville, AR. Business leaders along with Federal, state, and local emergency management officials came together to discuss the critical role that the private sector can play in helping communities rebuild their economies and recover more quickly after disasters.

Currently, more than 27 states are pursuing the development of a business emergency operations center and finding other innovative ways to support businesses in preparing for or recovering from disasters. In addition many private sector members, such as Wal-Mart and Lowes, have their own emergency operations centers. The idea of a business EOC (BEOC) is to facilitate coordination of business and volunteer organizations with the public sector and to engage businesses to provide services or resources during emergencies.

Pennsylvania does not currently have a BEOC, but Chester County EMA is exploring options on how to better incorporate the private sector into its operations.  Some of the current projects we are working on include reaching out to the private sector to obtain what type of resources or services they could provide during an emergency along with creating channels in which we can better share accurate information so that businesses can make more informed decisions.

Various states gave presentations on best practices for implementing a business EOC and the systems they utilize to conduct operations. The common theme seemed to be that the public sector must reach out and build relationships with the private sector prior to an event or emergency. It was said multiple times that during an emergency is not the time to be exchanging business cards. Another point was that government has resources, but the private sector has a whole lot more. Building those relationships now will give the public sector better access to a much larger assortment of resources and services. One other area that was stressed over and over was that of information sharing and communication between the private and public sector. Having clear channels of communication and accurate information flow will better serve all parties involved. The goal is getting businesses back to business after a disaster so that life can begin to resume on a normal level.

Last year FEMA created a Private Sector Division to better serve and build the coordination between the public and private sector. Representatives from that division, along with FEMA Administrator Fugate, gave presentations on FEMA efforts that are engaging and working with the private sector. Administrator Fugate made some great statements, but this one seemed to sum up what this forum was all about: “emergency management community, at all levels, must focus on how they can support local businesses, from retailers to restaurants to banks, to reopen as quickly as possible after a disaster, so that disaster survivors can access their services and employers can keep revenue and jobs in that community.”